I have been intrigued of late with the potential power of big data and data analytics to disrupt the practice of law and provide insights into areas previously governed by lawyer “gut instinct.” For example, litigation data analytics can provide useful and significant insights into such things as experience and tendencies of opposing counsel, judicial inclinations, and timing. Analytics is revolutionizing the counsel selection process as clients use data to learn the truth about lawyer marketing claims and determine the best fit for matters.
However, there is yet another perhaps even more disruptive use of data. Let’s face it: legal bills are the most comprehensive description of what lawyers do. The time to do tasks, what the lawyer does on a matter, and the steps taken to get from point a to point b is typically and scrupulously written down in excruciating detail. By systematically mining this data and taking a hard look at what it shows, clients can not only learn what a lawyer is doing but also demand data based change.
Today’s billing software products are becoming more and more sophisticated and robust and can scrutinize bills to see irregularities and billing guideline violations. These programs can also take billing data and develop more accurate budgets and then better monitor how lawyers are doing against those budgets as cases progress. And by looking across industry-wide data—which several vendors are now obtaining—firms and lawyers can be benchmarked against others in the industry.
Clients could then identify best practices for handling similar matters and mandate the use of those practices across their lawyers and law firms.
Best Practices
Here is the most intriguing use of billing analytics programs: by looking at bills across an industry or across matters, clients could make a quick and valid comparison of lawyer efficiencies and